Focusing on current affairs and public relations, the Uncaged PR blog will look at my views on the world through the eyes of a PR student.

11/18/2010

Google AdWords vs SEO - Part one

This is part one of a series of blogs which will look at Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and Google AdWords.

The battle between SEO and Google AdWords has been a focus of conversation and debate between two close friends of mine in recent weeks; one representing SEO and the other Google AdWords. Now it would only be fair to state to readers of this post that each friend works within both of these fields so please accept that their views at times may be a little bias.

I have spoken to both camps in great detail over the last few weeks to get a better concept of the boundaries and future that each service can offer. As I get closer to the launch of the uncagedpr.co.uk site, I am eager to find out more about each service and which offers better value for money.

Google AdWords

The main aim of Google AdWords appears to be simple. If someone searches for a plumber in Doncaster, they will only see results for plumbers in Doncaster. The pay-per-click system work by allowing the searcher to find what they need easier with sponsored links, whilst providing a enquiry or sale for the advertiser.

Friend A, who just so happens to work for Google puts it like this: "Google AdWords has an advantage over other forms of advertising, such as newspaper adverts or handing out flyers. With these forms of advertising you can reach a large audience, but you cannot measure how much of that audience is interested in your product or service. Look at how many flyers get thrown in the bin without even being read. A newspaper may have thousands of readers, but how many of those readers are looking for a plumber at the exact time they are reading?

"With AdWords you only pay when someone has specifically gone out of their way to search for the product or service you provide. Therefore, the chances of a sale or an enquiry are much higher compared to these other forms of advertising. You can also measure your results and use the data to optimise and enhance your campaign, meaning you can get the most specific and relevant traffic possible."

Cost

The cost of your Google AdWords is calculated based on your competition, with each key word (or AdWord as the case may be) having its own price. However, this price is not set by Google, but by the amount that each business or individual bids for that word. I imagine this to be slightly like ebay's bidding system. Therefore if someone is bidding £1.50 for an AdWords - for example we will use Uncaged as our AdWord - to appear on the first page of the Google search, you will be required to bid £1.51 or more to appear there too.

To manage the amount you spend on your account you are asked to set a daily budget. This is the amount you are willing to spend to get the amount of clicks you want through to your site. Friend A explains further: "You can control the amount you spend by setting a daily budget. This is the amount you are willing to spend to get the amount of clicks you want through to your site. If you are bidding £1 per click and want 20 visitors a day, you will set your daily budget to £20 per day."

Summary

To give Google AdWords a fair evaluation and one you will all understand, I will look at its effectiveness for a student blogger and for businesses.

Please note: I will be doing an overall review and comparison on both SEO and Google AdWords in part three of this series.

Student bloggers

Currently I cannot pinpoint a reason for why Google AdWords would benefit a student blogger. It seems if you want to make a name for yourself by blogging you need to be an active member of the PR blogging scene, happy to challenge or agree with the views of others and have a good and relevant content within your blog. I personally see no reason as to why a potential employer would prefer you to have a sponsored ad on Google, rather than be top of the Goole search of your name. By holding the top spot of that 'natural search' (what Google calls a normal search) you are immediately showing you are an active member on the blogging or PR scene.

Businesses

This is where things become a lot brighter for Google AdWords. As mentioned above the use of Google AdWords for a business can be extremely beneficial. If you are a plumber in Doncaster, and someone searches Google by typing: Plumber Doncaster, the chances are that you will be appearing at the top of the search results in a not so pretty yellow box and also down the right hand side in the sponsored links column.

Obviously you need to consider that this is all determined by the daily budget you set, but also a key point for consideration is that should only four people click on your £1 per click link in a day, and your budget is £20 a day, you will only be charged £4.

Without fully completing my research into SEO, I'd already be putting my money on Google AdWords as the top runner for businesses. However, if you are a student blogger, I'd recommend you become more active with your field and start linking in with other bloggers. Just make sure you spend your student loan on books rather than a pay-per-click account with Google AdWords.

Comments

The good thing about AdWords is that as long as you do not pay when people click on your ad. I work in online marketing and will tell you that Google AdWords conversion brings so much to our customers.

SEO is definitely worth are as well. Who says you have to pick between the two? SEO is cheaper than Adwords and it takes longer to see results, but it is very important

Great summary of how Adword works. Like you said, I think Adwords is much more cost effective than traditional print advertising because you can really target surfers who are already interested in your product. Another benefit of having a global audience; you can target as many surfers as your budget allows.

Google SEO returns search results may also be affected. By default the search engine now recognizes the user location for information on research and writing.This may sound negative but if you provide your site with keywords like city or state qualified correspond to the original search terms that you can create a new keyword that your company can use to obtain. This is another Google Local SEO you can take advantage of reaching your target customers in different locations.

World famous blog it is. How exciting, I will certainly take a look at the new blog!
Google's algorithm are making it harder for those keen on SEO to ensure you are at the top of a natural search on Google. Nicely written. Thanks for sharing this post so much. Thanks for sharing this post on adwords vs seo. Thanks for it.